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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: perch · temple · hand · wake · shower · sharp · coach · mark

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. shower — rain
  4. mark — a trace
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. shower — to wash
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. wake — a trail
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. mark — a grade
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — help
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. perch — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com